Abstract
Research has associated financial desire discrepancies (the gap between current and desired states) with poorer subjective well-being (SWB). Because acquiring more wealth appears ineffective in decreasing financial desire discrepancies, we examined whether a theoretically meaningful psychological factor, termed mindfulness, would close the aspiration gap by "wanting what one has," and thereby enhance SWB. Study 1 revealed that mindfulness was associated with a smaller financial desire discrepancy, which helped explain a positive association between mindfulness and SWB in undergraduates. Two further studies with working adults showed that these results occurred independently of financial status and changes therein. A final, quasi-experimental study with mindfulness trainees extended these findings. Reasons why mindfulness may help to promote the perception of having "enough" are discussed.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 727-736 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Journal of Research in Personality |
Volume | 43 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 2009 |
Keywords
- Desire discrepancy
- Mindfulness
- Subjective well-being
- Wealth